First snow of the season and chilly temperatures for the higher terrain of North Carolina and Tennessee

The first snow of the season and chilly temperatures are forecast tonight through Wednesday morning for the mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.

Not all locations will see snow, but all locations will see chilly temperatures tonight and Wednesday morning. Temperatures will fall well into the 40s for nearly all of Georgia and the Carolinas with northern Georgia, upstate South Carolina and western North Carolina seeing temperatures in the 30s with some 20s in the higher terrain of western North Carolina. Because of the cold temperatures, local National Weather Service offices have issues Freeze Warnings and Frost Advisories from northeastern Georgia, upstate South Carolina into western North Carolina. Temperatures in this area will fall between 27 and 35 degrees by Wednesday morning.

Freeze Warnings and Frost Advisories

Low temperature forecast

Paired with the cold temperatures, the first snow of the season is possible for the higher elevations of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. The heaviest accumulations are forecast above 5,000 feet where isolated 2-4 inches are possible for the highest peaks with around 1 inch from below 5,000 feet to 4,000 feet. A rain snow mixture could fall as low as 3,000 to 3,500 feet by Wednesday morning but accumulations are not expected. Major travel impacts are not forecast and no winter weather alerts are in effect.

Snow accumulation forecast

The cold and snow is concerning for some residents that are without electricity or adequate shelter after the devastating flooding from Hurricane Helene. Nearly 11,000 homes are without power in western North Carolina.

Current power outage map

Temperatures stay chilly Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning but begin to moderate Friday afternoon into the upcoming weekend.